Russian tech giant Yandex is moving to acquire the Israeli e-scooter ride-sharing company Wind, thereby expanding its portfolio in the country. Yandex announced last week that the deal is expected to be concluded by the end of the week. The specific terms of the deal remain undisclosed.
Currently, Wind operates a network of 4,500 electric scooters in 13 cities across Israel. Following the acquisition, Yandex will rename the company Yango Wind, with the new company operating under the Yango brand, the international arm of Yandex. As part of the takeover, Yandex will acquire all of the company’s R&D capabilities and operations in Israel. This action comes after Yandex launched its own electric scooter rental service in Moscow in July.
Yango Wind will be the latest of Yandex’s operations in Israel, with the company previously launching the Yango ride-hailing service in the Middle Eastern nation in December 2018. Last year, Yandex launched its 15-minute online grocery delivery service, Yango Deli.
In addition to its transport and grocery delivery businesses, Yandex is also a search engine, believed to generate over half of all search results in Russia.
